Local rapper Brice “Rambo” Rhodes wasn’t on a police watch list in Louisville. So how did he end up as one of the city's most notorious criminals in recent years?

He was hovering below the radar with all too common charges of domestic violence. He made unremarkable rap videos featuring friends waving guns, references to drug dealing and his rant that if “[racial slur] play with me, I’m gonna leave his [expletive] missing,” followed by the sound of a gunshot.

But a string of brazen killings during the spring of 2016 — and a subsequent series of bizarre behavior in jail and in court — pushed him and his triple-murder case to the forefront. Debbie "Mimi" Wren, the grandmother of two slain teens, called him "a predator, a monster."

Brice Rhodes(Photo11: Metro Corrections)

Here’s what we know about the allegations against him according to police and court records, interviews with police, and court testimony:

Three lives violently taken

► Honor roll student Larry Ordway, 14, and his close-knit brother, Maurice “Reece” Gordon, 16, were last seen alive leaving their mother's home in the Beechmont neighborhood the evening of Saturday, May 21. Witnesses told police they left with two other teens and Brice Rhodes, a 6-foot-tall, 200-pound man with face, neck, arm and chest tattoos.

► The brothers' bodies were found a day later in the backyard of an abandoned house in the 4000 block of River Park Drive, east of Shawnee Park. They had been beaten and stabbed to death and their killers attempted to burn their bodies.

► Homicide detectives tracked down one of the two alleged teen accomplices — 15-year-old Anjuan Carter — and began interviewing him while searching for 25-year-old Rhodes, their prime suspect. Police soon arrested an alleged accomplice, Jacorey Taylor, 17, with both teens claiming Rhodes forced them to participate in the double murder of the brothers and clean up of the crime scene.

► On May 24, two days after the bodies were found, police spotted Rhodes' car on Preston Highway and arrested him on an outstanding warrant in a domestic abuse case out of Indiana. That got him off the streets while detectives gathered more evidence.

► Seven hours after his arrest, investigators charged him with the double murder of the brothers, saying they found a plethora of evidence — including blood — after searching the apartment Rhodes shared with his mother on Hite Avenue in Clifton Heights, despite the apartment having been extensively cleaned with bleach.

► Detectives also charged Rhodes with tampering with physical evidence, alleging he destroyed evidence in the house and in a dumpster, where some charred items were recovered.

► Police kept quiet about the suspected involvement of a fourth person. It was a surprise to the public when Tieren Coleman, 19, was indicted on Nov. 22 on two counts of murder, two counts of abuse of a corpse and one count of helping tamper with physical evidence.

► At the time of the double homicide, Rhodes was on probation for domestic assault for incidents in 2013 and 2014, court records show. He now is charged with another 2014 incident in which his mother alleges that he grabbed her by the neck and punched her in the temple as she attempted to unload groceries, prompting his teenage sister to call police, according to the arrest warrant.

► Larry and Maurice looked up to Rhodes, who featured them holding guns in one of his music videos and sold them on a fantasy of becoming famous, the teens' relatives said. Rhodes also bought them food and clothes and drove them around.

► The brothers were in a car with Rhodes on May 4 when Rhodes spotted Christopher Jones, 40. Police allege that Rhodes jumped out of the car and shot Jones in the street — terrifying the teen brothers, who then feared Rhodes. The two teens charged in the brothers' slayings also had witnessed Jones' killing, they told investigators. Carter told police Rhodes mistook Jones for someone who had a price on his head, meaning he was the target of a contract killing.

► Rhodes began to fear they would "snitch" to police. Two-and-a-half weeks later, the teens were dead. Until that point, Jones' murder had remained unsolved.

► A day after Rhodes' arrest, dozens of teens and adults gathered in heavy rain showers at Wyandotte Park to release blue, silver and crimson balloons to honor the brothers. Several officers hovered on the periphery to safeguard the participants. They knew a third suspect, 17-year-old Jacorey Taylor, was at large but kept that quiet from the public.

Buy Photo

Christopher 2X, center, orders the release of balloons in honor of two teens who were slain last weekend as their mother Elizabeth Wren, with red hair next to him, looked on at Wyandotte Park.
May 25, 2016(Photo11: Sam Upshaw Jr./The CJ)

► The victims' mother, Elizabeth Wren, shouted at the crowd, "Please quit bashing me on Facebook. It ain't about me. It's sick and sad how we can't come together for these kids." She came under attack on social media for photos of her sons holding guns on her Facebook page, which referenced a gang. Her family insists the teens weren't in a gang and were just pretending to be tough.

Buy Photo

Elizabeth Wren, with red hair at center, the mother of two teens who were slain last weekend was escorted from the scene after collapsing during a vigil at Wyandotte Park.
May 25, 2016(Photo11: Sam Upshaw Jr./The CJ)

► The morning of the vigil, Rhodes was brought before a judge in Jefferson County District Court for arraignment. With private attorney Brendan McLeod by his side, he pleaded not guilty and was ordered jailed on a $1 million cash bond in each of the brother's murders.

► A day later, officers found the third suspect — the 17-year-old, charging him on May 26 with Larry and Reece's murders.

► Rhodes was brought from Metro Corrections back to court five days later, on May 31, for a brief hearing since McLeod realized he needed to recuse himself from the case — something that angered Rhodes. The veteran attorney, who knew Rhodes' mother, said he and Rhodes were in a holding cell when he told Rhodes he had a conflict of interest and couldn't remain on the case.

► McLeod said Rhodes spat on him. A deputy darted in between them to keep tension from escalating.

► Once inside the courtroom, McLeod said he advised Judge Amber Wolf that it was a good idea to keep him and his soon-to-be ex-client apart, saying, "if we're close to each other, we're going to scrap."

► Rhodes, handcuffed and flanked by deputies, yelled at McLeod across the room, "You're a coward, and I'll see you when I get out." The attorney could have brought an assault charge against Rhodes, but opted not to, likening Rhodes' actions to "a tantrum by a brat."

► As deputies escorted Rhodes from the courtroom, the defiant defendant pulled back and shouted a question at the judge about his bond. Wolf could have ordered him to return to the defense table to address her properly, but — known for her compassion — she answered his question without an admonishment.

► Three days later, several courtroom observers headed to see what Rhodes might do during a preliminary hearing.

► But Rhodes remained attentive and calm during the June 3 hearing, though he sometimes awkwardly smiled as homicide detectives described the murders and the evidence, including blood found in Rhodes' apartment and car and an eyewitness who claims to have seen someone that looked like Rhodes at a dumpster engulfed in flames hours after the teens went missing.

► A month later, a grand jury indicted Rhodes on July 14 on murder charges in the deaths of Larry, Reece and the 40-year-old, Christopher Jones.

► Rhodes is accused of attacking a fellow inmate a month later at Metro Corrections. Rhodes knocked the inmate to the floor Aug. 31 and threatened "to kill the victim like he did the others," according to the arrest warrant. The victim suffered a knot to the back of the head, a laceration on his forehead and a sore neck, with jail staff photographing his injuries.

► A few weeks later, Rhodes spat on an inmate Sept. 15. That incident and the August assault were both captured on the jail's video surveillance.

► Deputies took some rare precautions during a preliminary hearing Sept. 23 before Wolf because of Rhodes' erratic behavior. They strapped him by his wrists and ankles in a restraint chair and covered his mouth with a spit mask before wheeling the chair into court.

► Rhodes, angered by the chair and mask, repeatedly threatened to find and kill the judge and her family: "What, you don't think that we can't find out where you live at?"

► As extra deputies stood nearby, along with three corrections officers wearing gloves, Rhodes continued his rant: "I don't give a (expletive). You got family. I'll be out."

► That netted Rhodes additional charges of terroristic threatening and intimidating a participant in the legal process.

► A few weeks later, Rhodes refused to return to his cell at Metro Corrections and began to break and throw cleaning supplies inside the day room, according to a citation. He is accused of ripping an inmate-observation document during the Oct. 19 incident as well as taking a broken broom handle and swinging it at the glass window in attempts to break the glass toward an officer. He told the officer that he wanted her to come inside and that he was going to kill her, according to the citation charging him with terroristic threatening.

► Five days later, Rhodes is accused of throwing urine through the crack of his cell door, striking an officer in his head, neck and ear.

► Extra deputies were on standby when Rhodes was brought back to court Nov. 17, when his attorneys entered a not guilty plea on his behalf on the new charges. This time he wasn't wearing a spit mask and he remained calm and attentive.

► One of Rhodes' co-defendants, Anjuan Carter, 15, pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to reduced charges of three counts of facilitation to murder of the teens and the 40-year-old, with each count carrying up to five years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence, which carries one to five years. Prosecutors have recommended a 10-year sentence.

Buy Photo

Murder suspect Brice Rhodes walks into the courtroom for a hearing. He's been accused of killing two teen brothers to prevent them from implicating him in a previous murder.(Photo11: Matt Stone/The Courier-Journal)

► As part of Carter's plea deal, he agreed to testify against the others.

Emotional hearing: 2017 developments

► In jail, Rhodes tried to dig a hole with a metal object to escape his cell, officials allege in added felony charges. A Metro Corrections officer noticed a man-made hole under cinder blocks in Rhodes cell on Jan. 5. Officers say as they tried to confiscate the metal object, Rhodes grabbed it and flushed it down the toilet. He was charged with first-degree criminal mischief, second-degree escape and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies. It's unclear how Rhodes got the sharp object.

► Prosecutors announced their intention to seek the death penalty against Brice Rhodes in May. The prosecutor noted the "aggravating circumstance" — a requirement to seek the state's ultimate punishment — that multiple people were killed intentionally.

► Tieren Coleman accepted a plea deal in July, admitting he "facilitated" the murder of the brothers as well as the movement of their bodies to the backyard of an abandoned house in Shawnee. That's a lesser crime than the initial charges against him of complicity murder. He also pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and two counts of abuse of a corpse.

► During an emotional hearing, a judge sentenced Coleman to 10 years in prison in September. But, she said he has a good chance at shock probation because he had no other criminal history. Grandparents of the victims carried framed school photos of the brothers to court, pleading with the judge to send all involved in the murders to prison.

'Love' letter with threats: What's new in 2018

Buy Photo

Brice Rhodes appeared in court on Thursday.
November 17, 2016(Photo11: By Michael Clevenger, CJ)

► In January, Taylor pleaded guilty to facilitation murder — reduced from murder. Elizabeth Wren, the mother of the slain teens, told a judge she wasn't satisfied with the plea deal.

"It's not fair, losing two children at the same time," she said. "To me, they all should get life without the possibility of parole."

► In a February court filing, prosecutors released notes believed to have been sent by Rhodes to co-defendant Taylor in 2017 while they were both housed at Metro Corrections. The letter, which includes the words “RATS GET EXPOSED,” encourages Taylor to recant his police statement, not take any plea deals and go to trial.

► Taylor is scheduled to be back in court March 14 for a sentencing hearing before Circuit Judge Charlie Cunningham. The prosecution's plea offer allows for either 10 years in prison or 20 years of probation, a decision that will be made by the judge.

► Coleman is due back in court March 27 when Circuit Judge Mary Shaw is expected to determine if she'll keep Coleman in jail or grant him shock probation.

► Rhodes' death penalty case remains pending in Cunningham's court.

Reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at 502-582-4989 or mglowicki@courier-journal.com. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/mattg.